Father Of Illinois QB Banned From Campus

Nathan Creer, father of Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase, was banned from the Champaign campus for one year after resisting arrest during the game against Michigan State. Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images.

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The father of Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase has been banned from the Champaign campus for one year.

Nathan Creer, Scheelhaase's father, was arrested after an argument at Memorial Stadium during the Illini's 42-3 loss to Michigan State, according to university police chief Jeff Christiansen.

"(Creer) resisted and obstructed the officer's efforts to remove him from the incident," Christiansen said, according to the Associated Press. "He became somewhat aggressive with the officer."

It is not clear what the argument was about, but Christiansen said that it involved at least five people and seemed as though alcohol was involved.

Creer, who pleaded not guilty Monday to resisting an officer, is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing Dec. 17.

Scheelhaase said this off-field distraction won't be an issue this week as his team prepares for its game against Penn State.

"I've kept it as a family matter," Scheelhaase said, according to the Champaign News-Gazette. "When you're a senior, you've kind of been through the whole gambit. You know there's going to be different distractions throughout your career, and the best thing I have is a bunch of people in here who are focused on this next game, focused on what we need to do every day. When you're surrounded by those people that you've been around for years now makes life really easy."

Illinois coach Tim Beckman said that Creer's incident should not reflect on Scheelhaase.

"(Scheelhaase is) a great young man and I know he'll be able to work through the situation," Beckman said, per the Associated Press. "Nathan can (only) control what Nathan can control."

"It was great to get back into the swing of things and kind of get focused on football," Scheelhaase said.